Maybe We'll Fall, Maybe We'll Fly
by mayfair22
Summary: Elena is leaving for college...To England and everyone seems to know what to tell Damon to do about it. A one shot.   Rated T for a few words.


_AN- You'll all recognize the inspiration for this story. _

_This was written in an hour or so in the dead of the night so there really isn't any refinement to it but I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did._

_The title of the story is taken from a song by Gemma Hayes, which I think was used sometime on the show as well._

_Disclaimer- Disclaimed._

* * *

_Everyone seems to have an opinion on it._

Although at that moment Stefan is pinned to the wall by a heavy fist at his throat he still manages to sound all wise and preachy, "You should tell her."

Damon increases the pressure of his hand but much to his annoyance Stefan remains unperturbed.

If today he actually manages to kill his brother, he doesn't think he'll regret it all that much, "Stefan." He warns, "It's not about what _I_ should do, it's about what _you're _not doing." He looks at his brother seriously, his eyes bright and blue and pained, "How can you let her go?"

Stefan rolls his eyes, albeit a difficult feat while having your wind pipe being attacked, but he manages, "Listen to yourself brother. We haven't been dating for two years now, it's not like I have a right anymore."

Then who does? It's not like Damon has _ever _dated her. Is there nobody who could stop her?

"But you did love her." Damon tries as a last resort while slightly decreasing the pressure of his hand. If Stefan couldn't be of any help anyhow, then killing him wouldn't be as much fun.

"I still do." Stefan responds taking the opportunity to move away from Damon's periphery, "But I can't influence her decisions anymore."

"But England is a freaking different _continent!_"

Stefan shrugs at him, "You should tell her Damon. You could be surprised by her response."

* * *

Jenna is beyond excited. No one in her entire ten generations has ever managed beyond community college and she is just so proud.

She still hasn't got a clue into the whole vampire drama; practically slept through the entire battle with Klaus; and sometimes Damon just has to give it to Alaric for handling it so well…

But even she makes it her business to throw him some advice, "Um…Have you ever been to Oxford?" she asks while he helps her dry dishes.

"Yeah…About twenty years back." He replies absentmindedly.

"Oh!" she looks taken aback, "You must have been really young then."

Damon groans inwardly, sometimes he just forgets, "yes…A baby."

She remains silent but the way she bites the side of her lip tells him that there is more to it than wanting to know his travel experience, "What?" he asks harshly.

Jenna sighs, for all she knows she had seen Damon and Elena kiss some three years back and even though such an incident had never been repeated to her knowledge, she could read the look Damon threw at her niece ever so often.

Elena doesn't need the distraction if she wants to keep that scholarship intact.

"Please don't follow her there." Jenna pleads and Damon is actually surprised to hear the tone of desperation in her voice.

"What makes you think I would want to?"

Jenna gives him that look and apparently she's not as oblivious as he gives her credit for, "Please don't. She has worked very hard for this."

Damon quietly finishes wiping the dish before throwing a small smile in her direction.

But he doesn't answer.

* * *

"Could you not have failed her in history or something?"

Alaric doesn't even bother to acknowledge his appearance as Damon uninvitingly places himself in one of the chairs in the empty classroom.

"I have papers to grade Damon." He finally says as he realizes that Damon isn't about to leave anytime soon.

"Yes. Yes. Go ahead. Send them _all_ to Oxford."

Alaric doesn't answer.

"How did it happen anyway? I thought she was dumb." Damon grins sheepishly, "You know, with the entire deal about dating Stefan and wanting to get herself killed every other day."

"She isn't." Ric replies in a distracted tone, "Once the entire doppelganger thing got over her grades picked up."

"Fanfuckingtastic." He would have kept Klaus alive for longer if he had known.

The teacher finishes his papers and then gathers them up to leave for his next class; He stops at the doorway to throw a backward glance at Damon who is staring unblinkingly outside the window, "Jen's party is tonight. You better come."

"What party?"

Ric sighs, Damon was really going to make all this all very difficult, "Elena's going away party."He reminds him.

"I'm not coming to any such thing."

"Oh! But you are."

* * *

It's the sappiest thing he has ever attended.

And to make things worse Elena, all brimming with excitement of her new life, in freaking England decides to give everyone an individual goodbye speech.

He isn't going to stay through it. He doesn't want a goodbye from her; He doesn't think he can handle it.

He turns to go and is stopped by Tyler Lockwood of all people.

"You cannot leave Salvatore."

And seriously who does this boy think he was, "And exactly who made you my keeper, mutt?"

"She still has to finish her byes. You cannot leave until then."

Damon narrows his eyes at him, "Why don't I just rip your head instead?"

"Why don't I just bite you instead?"

Damon chuckles at him and then points at the first crescent moon visible from the window, "Still time to go. I can go much faster."

Tyler all but snarls at him as he opens his mouth to retort back…

"Boys!" Caroline warns as she approaches the pair, "Keep it down."

"Barbie…Ken here is being a trouble. Will you _please _tell him to mind his own business?" Damon calls out in mock happiness and watches in utmost amusement as Tyler throws a dirty look at Caroline and then walks off, leaving the two alone.

Things were definitely not peachy in paradise.

"Go if you want. I really don't care." She tells him.

"Like I need your permission."

"You don't." she replies prettily, "but if you go it'll just save Elena a lot of trouble of _pretending _to be upset at leaving you."

She takes great pleasure in the tensing of his jaw but it's only short lived as his eyes return to their earlier mirth, "So what was it that I heard from Stefan's room last night? Giggling?"

Caroline stills and there is a sudden shift in her coloring which he takes as a vampire blush. Brilliant.

He smirks at her, "Another one of Elena's hand me downs, Caroline? Again? Don't you ever get tired?"

She throws a glance at Elena talking to Bonnie before returning back to Damon, her eyes alive with detest, "Another one of Stefan's women, Damon? As always? Don't _you_ know it any other way?"

With that she turns on her 6 inch heels and walks off.

* * *

As it turns out he never really manages to get out of the place.

He is too transfixed, watching Elena go about her way taking each and everyone out to the balcony to say her goodbyes.

It's Alaric's turn at the moment and there is no one else left except for him.

He dreads every second as he waits his turn.

"Don't you dare tell her to stay back." Bonnie slides in next to him, her eyes fixed at the scene in the balcony.

Just what he needs. The witch now, telling him what he should and shouldn't do.

"That's a thought." He replies casually, "maybe I _should _compel her."

"I'm serious Damon. She has been through too much. She needs this chance and if you screw it up," she turns to glare at him, "then I will personally hurt you."

She continues before he can tell her that he's not scared of her hocus pocus, "You know as well as I do that I _can _hurt you."

They are interrupted though by the emergence of Elena and a somber looking Alaric and Damon feels like every unnecessary breath in his body has left him. What was he going to tell her? What was she going to tell him?

"Uh, Well..." Elena begins, "This is it guys, thanks so much for coming here tonight, it means a lot to me." She smiles at everyone in the room. "I should probably get back to my packing now. See you."

Several heads turn to look at Damon in surprise, besides him Bonnie mutters a shocked "what?" and from across the room Stefan is looking at his brother in a mix of sympathy and surprise.

Even Caroline looks shocked.

He does not even get a goodbye?

* * *

He should have known better.

How is it possible that the Little Gilbert doesn't have a say in the matter as well?

"You've to stop her from going."

"Not now, kid." Damon warns. This was not a good time.

"But you must…England is too far."

Exactly.

"I can't do a thing about it Jeremy. You were there. You saw it; She doesn't want to talk to me."

Jeremy sighs, "Maybe she forgot about you."

"Not helping kiddo."

"No...No, I mean she probably thought that she had already said her bye to you. Maybe she just missed you."

Damon smirks at him, "Like I'm that easy to miss."

Jeremy shakes his sadly, "I just don't want her to go."

"Neither do I." Damon replies honestly.

It's a great opportunity for her…He knows it. But how is _he _to continue without even laying eyes on her.

In the last two years, without the shadow of her relationship with Stefan threatening to destroy everything, they had been forming an unbreakable bond of sorts. He had been waiting patiently for her to make up her mind to take it further than just friendship.

And now she was leaving.

He takes another swig of his drink; Apparently he wasn't even important enough for a farewell.

* * *

So what if he doesn't have much of pride at this moment, he makes up for it by being absolutely drop dead gorgeous.

That is why he is unashamedly standing in Elena's room demanding to know why he had been left out of her sappy, girly goodbye, the one he didn't even want to be a part of to begin with?

"Okay, so I understand." He begins, "I'm not your boyfriend, I'm not your uncle and God forbid that you consider me anything like your brother but I did think that we were friends Elena."

"Damon…" she tries but he doesn't let her continue, "No, Elena you listen to me. I don't know Okay. I don't know what is it that one is supposed to have done to deserve at least a _damn_ goodbye from you but I think I did all that and more."

"Damon…"

"You know what, let me save you the trouble," He retorts at her, "_Goodbye _Elena. You can go to fucking Timbuktu for all I care."

"Damon." This time the anger in her voice makes him stop, "You think I didn't say goodbye to you because I don't care?"

He doesn't answer, just continues to stare at her with his eyes shining with unmistakable fury as she continues, "You _idiot! _I didn't say goodbye to you because I don't know _how_ to."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"I can't say goodbye to you because it's too _hard_ Damon." She lowers her voice, "because I don't want to say goodbye to you."

And she turns back to her bed, her head lowered, her breathing labored.

He stares at her back, shocked and for all the vampire instincts he has, how come he didn't pick up on _this_?

She turns to him then, slowly and he knows then and there that yes, he would let her go because she deserves it and no, he would not follow her and screw it all up but that he would tell her that he loves her _right now _and that he would continue to wait for her for whenever she decides to come back to him.

Patience was one of his many virtues.

"I love you Elena."

And she's crying and laughing and hugging him and he's kissing every inch available to him, his each kiss punctuated by the promise that he loves her and that he would continue to wait for her …For eternity.

Because he can.

And then there is nothing but the two of them, saying goodbye to each other in a way only two people in love can.

* * *

_So? How was it? It just ends here even though I could go the entire Friends way and have him stop her from going anywhere but I think Elena needs to do a bit of growing up and find herself. Don't you? She would of course return back to Damon._

_Do review? My favorite was the Alaric part. What was yours?_


End file.
